TAX NUMBER: 19013983-1-42
31 May 2020
Information note by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee on the rules applicable as of 1 June 2020
On 31 March 2020, the Hungarian Government issued a decree that overrode certain provisions of the Hungarian Code of Criminal Procedure with a view to the state of danger declared by the Government due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Two other government decrees amending the rules followed, the latest being Government Decree 229/2020. (V. 25.), which enters into force on 1 June 2020.
The newest changes concern the following areas, among others:
– changes are introduced to presence at procedural acts, but remote hearings remain the main rule,
– rules limiting the methods of accessing case files to those not requiring personal presence at courts are lifted,
– some of the rules extending procedural deadlines are lifted,
– defendants may submit complaints again when the criminal procedure becomes protracted, and
– defendants may submit compensation claims again for the unfounded restriction of their liberty.
For a detailed presentation of the changes introduced to the Hungarian criminal procedure due to COVID-19, as in force as of 1 June 2020, see the following information note prepared by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee:
Main changes in the Hungarian criminal procedure due to COVID-19 (1 June 2020)
